IPOB indict Gov Umahi of panning Ebonyi communal crisis to procure lands for Miyetti Allah

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alleged that the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, is scheming to hand over large expanses of land to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).

This was contained in a statement issued by the IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Friday.

According to Powerful, the communal crisis in Effium and Ezza communities in Ebonyi State were sponsored by the governor in order to achieve this aim.

He further vowed that IPOB would never succumb to any pressure to allow nomadic cattle herders take over any part of the state or region.

The statement reads in part, “The global family of IPOB condemn the politically-motivated communal crisis in Ebonyi State as a deceptive move to hand over large parcels of land to Miyetti Allah by the outgoing Governor of Ebonyi State.

“Umahi should know that his tenure is almost over, and we appreciate his achievements in terms of infrastructural development, but we also remember his treatment of Ebonyi indigenes. That does not give him the impetus to set Ebonyi State on fire before he vacates office. IPOB stands as a watchdog in our territory and we will never succumb to any pressure to allow outsiders take over any part of our ancestral lands.

“One of the reasons this crisis was reignited again between Effium and Ezza people in Ebonyi State is the huge land mass in that area—Ohaukwu LGA.

“Umahi cannot use the communal crisis he created as a conduit to carve out community lands.

“We are advising him to abandon any agreement he had with Miyetti Allah for his own safety and that of the state.”